A neighbour of mine, on the American east coast had a fire hydrant replaced in front of the house, right at the curb, and the fill used settled leaving a hole. He filled it with compost. Alas he now has road cantaloupes and courgettes (a type of small squash also called zucchini).

So is that Kelayim? (Clearly unintended, since he did not expect the compost to actually grow something).

And is he required to do something about it?

Would he be allowed to eat the fruit (ignoring whether it would be 'wise' to eat street fruit)?

1 Answer
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The Rambam (Kilayim 1:3) and the Shulchan Aruch (YD 297:2) explicitly rule that the issue of Kilaei Zeraim (planting mixtures of edible seeds (except grapes)) only applies in the Land of Israel and a Jew can even plant his own mixtures outside of Israel on purpose. So I think we can reason a fortiori that your friend is allowed to keep his vegetables when he didn't even plant them, although it is wise to have him check with his local rabbi before doing so.

Are there explicit combinations not allowed? I recall something about within a species was ok? So green squash with yellow squash? How far 'apart' would they need to be to qualify, say in Eretz Yisroel?
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geoffcSep 5 '12 at 3:20